Bhopal comes up with India's first braiding studio for sadhus

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Did you know Bhopal has the nation's first braiding studio, where the deadlocks (Jata) of sages and saints are styled. In one and a half years, more than 40 sages and saints have reached Bhopal. "When I started braiding a deadlock (braid), I realised how difficult it is to maintain," says braiding artist Karishma Sharma.

“Meanwhile, I noticed that many of the sadhus I encountered in Kashi and Ujjain had damaged hair. With a needle and thread, someone had tied a loop in it. Seeing their issues, I made the decision to become a braiding artist”, she added.

Karishma said that she does not charge any money for this. Whatever they give, she keeps that as a blessing.

According to Karishma, a saint from Ujjain said that sages and saints wash their hair in the river, without any proper hair products. Also, the 17 Shringars of Naga Sadhus place a lot of significance on Panchkesh, where the strands are rotated five times to get the shape of the ‘Jata’. In such a situation, it becomes very important to take care of the hair or else strands can become weak.

And that's why Karishma started her styling studio.

(With inputs from Dainik Bhaskar)